Watercooler Stories

PHILADELPHIA, July 12 (UPI) -- The owner of a Philadelphia lunch counter at a public market said the U.S. Olympic Committee is forcing him to remove the word "Olympic" from its name.

Athens Voulgaridis, whose family bought the Olympic Gyro eatery at Reading Terminal Market in 1984, said he received a cease-and-desist e-mail from the U.S. Olympic Committee June 7 demanding he remove the word "Olympic" from the lunch counter's name, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Wednesday.

The e-mail cited a 1978 law granting the USOC all U.S. commercial use of Olympic imagery and terminology, including the word "Olympic." The representative who sent the e-mail said the committee only recently learned of the eatery.

"'Olympic' has been around forever; you can't just buy a name," Voulgaridis said. "They don't have a right to do that, but I'm not going to fight the government."

Voulgaridis said he decided to comply with the USOC, which said in a follow-up letter it would give the business until the end of 2013 to change its name, and re-dub the lunch counter Olympia Gyro, a name that won the approval of USOC officials.

The owner said he expects it to cost about $6,000 to change the eatery's signs and employee uniforms.

Man finds $8,000, turns it in

BLOOMFIELD, N.Y., July 12 (UPI) -- The owner of a New York state farm market said an honest man who found $8,000 on the side of the road returned it to the market.

Chip White, owner of White's Farm Market in Bloomfield, said Nick Optis of Mendon discovered the cash Monday morning in a bag at the side of Route 64, about a half mile from the market, and brought the money to him after finding checks made out to the business in the bag, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported Wednesday.

"He won't talk to the media. He's too humble," White said of Optis.

The owner said the employee who was supposed to take the bag of cash to the bank apparently dropped it when he stopped on Route 64 to determine the cause of an open door light on his dashboard.

The employee realized the cash was missing when he arrived at the bank and Optis had returned the cash by the time the worker returned to the market.

White said the employee was not punished.

"It was a learning mistake," White said.

The owner said he is planning to give Optis a $100 reward for his honesty.

"It was just a wonderful thing he did," White said.

Police: Man demanded ammo for gun

WINTER HAVEN, Fla., July 12 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said they arrested a man who brought his pistol to a Walmart store and demanded employees sell him ammunition.

Winter Haven police said Rodney Gene Lewis, 24, was seen drinking a beer outside of the store July 3 before walking inside and placing his revolver on the counter in the sporting goods section, WFLA, Tampa, Fla., reported Wednesday.

Lewis told an employee he wanted to buy ammo and argued with the worker when he was told ammunition could not be sold for a weapon present in the store.

Officers said Lewis was walking around the store with the revolver in his pocket when they arrived. They determined Lewis, who allegedly insisted it was his "First Amendment" right to carry a firearm, did not have a concealed weapons permit.

Lewis allegedly threatened to physically harm the arresting officer once he is released from the Polk County Jail.

The suspect was held on charges of improper exhibit of a firearm or dangerous weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly intoxication to cause public disturbance, disorderly conduct, brawling, fighting, resisting arrest without violence and crime against person by threat to public servant.

Club wants to stop Octomom from stripping

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 12 (UPI) -- A Florida strip club is trying to convince a court to stop a competitor from featuring "Octomom" Nadya Suleman as a dancer.

Gary Odle, the owner of T's Lounge in West Palm Beach, said he is suing to stop Suleman from making her Florida stripping debut at The Playhouse South in Hollywood after breaking off her exclusive contract with T's, WPTV, West Palm Beach, reported Wednesday.

Suleman's manager said she decided to go to the other club instead of T's because of comments made by a bartender at Odle's club calling the mother of octuplets and six previous children a "little crazy."

However, Odle said Suleman signed a contract agreeing to give 35 days' notice of a cancellation and she instead canceled 34 days prior to her scheduled start at the club. He said the contract stipulated Suleman could not dance at any club within 50 miles of T's 90 days before or after her appearance at his club.

Suleman's manager said the contract with T's is invalid because she never received a deposit from the club, but Odle said he has the club's "charge card on file."

Odle said he wants the court to either stop Suleman's scheduled performance Friday or have his club compensated for losses from her cancellation.

"It means so much to be the first one to get her nationwide," Odle said. "With this sort of thing, you have to be the first one out of the box."

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